To be thankful

Oh the joy of going grocery shopping at Wal-Mart the week of Thanksgiving! I thought that with it being Monday I would be safe from the crowds, but that sure was not the case today. When I pulled into the parking lot it was fuller than a usual Monday, just not crazy full. But upon entering the store is when I really should have just turned around and gone back home. That is, if I was a smart lady. But, I needed to get groceries so my family can actually have a real dinner instead of grilled cheese and PB&J sandwiches. My list was very organized in the order of the aisles (yeah, I know I am really prepared), the kids had just eaten lunch and it was a few hours before their naps, plus I made sure Carson had gone potty before we left home. Everything should have gone smoothly, but I should have known better than to expect that. As we are about half way done, I end up running into my hair dresser who is currently on maternity leave. It was nice to see her and we got to chat for a moment, but that is when Carson started trying to poke holes with his finger in the fresh meat section. We quickly moved on to the dairy section and I noticed that Luke had lost a shoe. Luckily a man came up to me and handed me Luke’s shoe – how he managed to find us in the crowd of shoppers I have no idea, but I am thankful for that. So we get down to the last few items I need and Carson insists very loudly that he has to go poop. Just great, “Can’t you wait until we get home?,” I ask. He yells even louder, “No Mom – I have diarrhea!” I could feel my face turning a bright shade of red as we hustled to the bathrooms which, thankfully again were close by. I park the full cart and remove Luke from the seat as we hurry into a stall; all three of us into a very small bathroom stall in which the door opened to the inside. It was a bit of a tight squeeze. A woman was just leaving the handicapped stall so I thought we had the bathroom to ourselves. Carson is doing his thing as I am trying to hold a squirming Luke. Thankfully it wasn't diarrhea, but normal number 2. When he’s done I had him stand up and lean over so I could wipe him. While his head is down by the floor he says, “Mom, I see a butt. Whose butt is that?” Now my face has turned an even brighter shade of red. To my horror the bathroom was not empty and there was a lady with black shoes on next to us quietly sitting on the toilet. I was not only embarrassed for myself, but also for this poor lady whose butt was being looked at and commented on by my 3 year old. I had to get us out of there before she came out as I would have dreaded making eye contact with her. There were a few more items on my list, but I sure as heck wasn’t going to hang around to get them. I had to get to the checkout lanes a.s.a.p! While standing in line I am constantly looking at every woman’s shoes to see if they are the same ones as the lady in the bathroom. But thankfully I did not find the match. After I get all of our items loaded onto the conveyor belt, I notice Carson is messing with the credit card unit that you swipe your card through. So when I go to swipe my card, somehow Carson managed to change it to Spanish instead of English, which I don’t know much of, if any. Somehow I got through it and I got everyone loaded back into the van to head home. Thankfully that adventure was over.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Funny Comments

Today we went to Greiger's to have the oil changed in our van. While we were in the waiting room a man walked past us and was wearing a cowboy hat. Carson looked at him and replied quite loudly, "Hey Howdy!"

The other day while we were in the front room a school bus went past the house. I replied, "There goes the middle school bus." Carson then asked, "Is Taylor is middle school?" I replied, "No, he's in elementary school and you, Carson, are in pre-school and Mommy is in no school." Then Carson paused and asked, "Mom, are you in stores?" I had to laugh at that. I guess his concept of when you're finished with school is that you go shopping. Not a bad idea!

I was getting ready to go workout at the gym and Carson comes up to me with my baseball cap and says, "Here Mom, don't forget to wear your helmet!"

Luke's first haircut

Luke is now 18 months old and I hated to do it, but we finally had him get his first haircut. Goodbye curls in the back! What really brought me to do it was the fact that on more than one occasion people thought he was a girl. Now come on - he is so a boy! I have included some before and after pictures that I know you will enjoy. We went to Locks of Fun here in town. Luke got to sit in a Power Wheels police car and watched Dora the Explorer while the lady cut his hair. He did not seem to mind or wasn't even aware that his hair was being cut. I wasn't too happy with how short they cut his bangs, but that's the great thing about hair - it will grow back. And probably really fast too! They gave us a certificate with an after picture and a lock of his hair (a curl!). So my baby now looks much too old and mature. Did you know he actually has ears! And now the big fat cheeks hang out even more. Love it!

Buttered Popcorn

I love and appreciate the immature humor that my 9 year old son possesses. At his age body parts and bodily functions and sounds are especially humorous. That being said, Taylor (and most boys his age) thinks that making jokes about butts and farts are hilarious. He had me in tears at Wal-Mart tonight - I really got a great laugh. We were going down the chip isle and came to the microwave popcorn section. I was looking over the many different options and couldn't decide which one to get. Taylor put his hand up to the box and said, "Hey Mom, read this." I looked over and he covered up the "er" on the box of popcorn so it now read, "Extra Butt." Maybe I am easily entertained, but for the next few minutes we had a blast coming up with other "Butt" flavors of popcorn. For your reading pleasure here are the ones we came up with:

• Secret Butt
• Jumbo Pop Butt
• Movie Theater Butt
• Light Butt
• 100 Calorie Butt
• Variety Pack Butt
• Butt Light
• Ultimate Butt
• Sweet 'N Butt
• Cinnamon Butt
• Organic Butt
• and my favorite - Old Fashioned Butt

What kind of food is that?

I haven't blogged in awhile and when I told Jason this story he said I had to write it down, so here I am. Today Luke and Carson were playing with their kitchen play set quite nicely together. Carson was making plates of food for Luke to eat. I walk past and Carson asks me if I want something to eat. I ask what he made and he replies, "misstake." He really meant to say steak, but it came out as Ms. Steak. Love it!

Caffeine Withdrawal

July 20, 2006 - Caffeine Withdrawal

Today I have been having withdrawal symptoms. And it is all due to not having any coffee, but I didn’t do this to myself intentionally. I love my coffee. Every morning Jason gets up and makes a pot of Dunkin Donuts coffee for us. Well, little did I know that yesterday was the last of the coffee and no one failed to inform me that we were out. Yikes! Panic and fear set in. What was I going to do? There was maybe 2 teaspoons of grounds left in the bottom of the bag. Could I manage to make a 4 cup serving just to get me through the morning? Well that attempt was just plain pathetic. If you like hot water with a slight brown tint of coffee color then it might be for you, but why did I even bother. It was a very rainy and stormy morning so I did not want to venture out into that. And so began the pounding headache. And it escalated throughout the day. I decided to finally recruit the help of my Dad next door. I popped a few Excedrin’s, drank a little water, and went to lay down in bed in an attempt to sleep it off while the kids got to play with Papa. I felt like I just tossed and turned and I could feel my heart racing from all the caffeine in the pills I took. Sleep was not happening even after an hour of laying there. The headache still remained. So I got up and relieved my Dad and decided I needed to go get my coffee. Just the thought of it started to make me feel better. Dunkin’ Donuts here I come. I ordered my favorite – a small hot caramel latte, no sugar and drank the headache away. I normally don’t like to drink too much coffee after 4pm, but today just had to be an exception. I also stocked back up on ground coffee and will make sure to never let this happen again.

Earlier this morning while Luke was taking his morning nap I decided to jump in the shower. Carson was sitting in front of the TV enjoying the one millionth showing of a movie we rented from the library, so all was good. So I thought! After my shower I hear Luke babbling in his bed and also I hear Carson giggling. At first I thought, “Oh how cute they are talking to each other and having fun.” Then I came to my senses and realized there is probably something mischievous going on and I best go and check on the boys. I walk in the room and see Luke standing up in his crib with a sweet smile on his face and also with a huge blob of baby lotion all over his head. Carson on the other hand is sitting in the rocking chair next to the crib with the evidence in his hands (a bottle of baby lotion) and a sly smile on his face. I asked Carson what was going on and his response was, “I’m getting Luke ready for summer and putting his lotion on so he can go outside.” What a little stinker! He once again proves the point that I can’t leave him alone for more than a few minutes without him getting into some kind of trouble. But, all I could do was laugh (and make sure Carson didn’t see me!) I would have taken a picture, but the lotion was starting to makes it way down Luke’s forehead and I didn’t want to risk it going into his eyes.

A few posts for July

Saturday, July 15, 2006
In the van I keep a changing pad for when I need to change Luke’s diaper on the go. On the pad are trains and the words “toot, toot!” Taylor pulled the changing pad out and laid it on his lap. He asked, “What is this?” And I tell him it is what I use when I change Luke’s poopy diapers. He gets a very disgusted look on his face and replies, “No wonder it says ‘toot, toot!’”

July 2006
Carson likes to watch the movie Toy Story and one of his favorite characters in the movie is Buzz Lightyear. He’s watched this movie a lot. The other day while the movie was playing he came up to me and asked in a very serious voice, “Mom, what’s in Buzz Light’s ears?”

I was eating a Hershey Kiss that my Mom gave me and there were a few different varieties. I put one in my mouth and replied, “Oh – caramel.” Carson spoke up and asked, “Is it a caramel latte?” I must go to Dunkin’ Donuts too much for him to know that!

Pictures from my trip to California

I just recently returned from a trip to California to visit my friend Amanda's sister (Audrey) who just had a baby. We flew into San Diego this past Thursday and returned on Sunday. It truly was a blast being with my 2 girlfriends that I've been friends with since we were kids. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

I surprised the girls with a limo the morning we were supposed to be taken to the airport by my husband, Jason.

A beautiful shot of Seal Beach.


On top of Mt. Soledad


Having lunch on the boardwalk at Venice Beach. Here we could watch all the strange walks of life parade by. Very entertaining!


Taking a break at Venice Beach.


Yes, this is me doing gymnastics at Venice Beach. I fit right in with all the other street performers except no one gave me any money just a few stares!


Us silly girls getting ready to head out for a night on the town. We hadn't even had a drink yet at this point even though the picture begs to differ!


Our fun night out at the Hermosa Beach pier. Yes, we had already had a few drinks when this picture was taken. Notice the name of the shop behind us. The name says it all!


Jenny and I at Hermosa Beach. This was the only real sunny day on the beach that we were able to experience so we laid in the sand fully clothed and attempted to take a nap. We ended up with sunburned faces and farmers tans. Oh well, it's the experience that matters!



Amanda and I up in the Hollywood hills with the Hollywood sign as our backdrop. So cool to see in person!

Running errands with a 3 year old is for the birds!

I've been told that the more one is exposed to an experience the easier and better it becomes. As for taking Carson with me when I have errands to accomplish, it's not getting easier or better. Take for instance today. We had a bit of running to do, but not necessarily a lot of items to purchase. It was mostly in and out of places which I thought wouldn't be too bad. HA! We began with a trip through the Dunkin Donuts drive thru (as usual) to get my small coffee with cream and sugar. Carson (as usual) was full of talk and questions. "Where is that car going? Who is in that car? Is that a car wash? I'm hungry. Can I have a donut? What's that dog's name? Can we play at that park? Where's my sippy cup? Is that a bank?" Literally he asked about 10 - 20 questions in a row. Talk about exhausting! He is so full of curiosity. Our next stop is to purchase salt for our softener. Luckily they too have a drive thru - so convenient! And again there is Carson in the back playing 20 million questions. So far non-eventful, but that's because Carson has been strapped in his car seat the whole time. Next stop, Walgreens. It was all good until we had to checkout. I am paying for my items, trying to keep Luke from grabbing things at the register and attempting to keep an eye on my wandering Carson. Well, sure enough I wasn't able to watch Carson close enough and he walks up to me taking a bite out of an apple. First of all since when did Walgreen's start selling produce and secondly why would Carson think it's a free for all and just pick up food and start to eat it at a store. We don't do that! So I add the partly eaten apple to the rest of the items I am purchasing and get ready to pay. I hear a lady behind me ask, "Are you buying two apples?" I look back and wonder why she would ask me that and then notice Carson has yet another apple and has begun to eat that one too! AGH! So I pay for the additional snack and make sure Carson is squeezed between my legs as I finish paying and get the heck out of the store. Unfortunately I still had 2 more stores to go to before we could go home. Next stop, Best Buy. Carson was actually pretty good in there. He had his ears plugged the entire time and kept asking me if we could leave because it was too loud. We were in and out of there in no time and at last the final stop - Target. By this time I knew Carson would have to use the potty so we stopped in the bathroom and as I am holding Luke and attempting to help Carson with his pants he starts trying to flush the toilet, pull the toilet paper out and lift the lid to the sanitary disposal bins. If he would just go pee and do one single thing it would make life so much easier for all of us. A lady walked into the stall next to us and of course here come the questions from Carson. "Who's that next to us? Does she have to go pee too? Can I look under and see?" Yeah, it was time to leave. So we wash our hands extra good and proceed to get our items. There is one thing that is not good about Target when you have a very curious child which is the service telephones that are posted throughout the store. If I stopped near one or even one that was in the distance Carson could not resist the urge to pick up the phone and begin to have a conversation with whoever was on the other end. This happened 4 different times with 4 different telephones. I am finally finished and we head to the checkout. Thankfully the checkout lady was engaging Carson in conversation which helped distract him so I could pay without another embarrassing episode. Yea, we were done and headed out the door. But Carson couldn't leave without at least one last incident. At the exit doors there was a piece of popcorn laying on the ground and Carson decided that he was going to pick it up and eat it. I stopped the shopping cart in the middle of the doors (unintentionally blocking anyone who wanted to exit the store) and tried to get him to spit it out. Well by the time he did spit it out there was a handful of people bottlenecked at the exit watching my pathetic efforts. Talk about embarrassment! These people probably thought I don't feed my boy if he has to resort to eating popcorn off the ground. I end up having to pick Carson up because at that point he wasn't into cooperating. And as I grab him and attempt to push the cart through the doors it gets jammed into the wall and there is a security panel which resembled a thermostat right at Carson's level. This child has quick hands and wouldn't you know it, he pushed a button on this panel and it made some beeping noise and I noticed it displayed a message that said "sensors restoring". I have no clue what he just did and wasn't about to find out. We booked out to the van without looking back and headed home so I could recuperate from the days errand run. The End. (This really is a true story! That's the sad part!)

More Observations from Carson

Hi everyone. Not much to post about lately and I haven't been on the computer as much as I used to since the weather has gotten warmer. We have been spending a lot of time outside these days. All of the fresh air really helps wear Carson out, but you would think it would help him sleep more sound throughout the night, but he is still waking up almost every night and coming into our room. When is this going to stop?!?!?! I also have had to continue to drive him around in the van in order for him to fall asleep and take a nap during the day. Otherwise he fights it so bad! The other night I peeked into the boys room during the middle of the night and noticed Taylor was not in his bed. He had crawled into Carson's. The next day I asked him why he slept in Carson's bed and he said that he had a bad dream and wanted to be by Carson. How sweet is that. Now if I could only get Carson to do the same thing when he wakes up. I have tried it, but he will stay in Taylor's bed for a few minutes before he comes back into our bedroom. I have heard of parents putting locks on the outside of kids rooms, but I can't bring myself to do that. It seems a little too much! Any suggestions out there?!?!?

Carson continues to repeat any and everything we say and do or that he sees or hears on TV. Just the other day Taylor was upset over something (I can't recall the exact situation) and Carson piped up, "Taylor calm down yourself. I don't want to hear you anymore." Gosh that sounded all too familiar! Do I say that a little too much for Carson to chime it back? It did make me laugh.

Carson also makes me laugh when he doesn't quite get what you said and it comes back out the way he interpreted it. For instance, the other day he told me he had to go potty. So I asked him, "Do you have to poop or pee?" Except I did not enunciate my words so it came out slurred and sounded like I asked "poor 'er pee." Carson looks at me with a confused look and asks, "Whose pooper?" Oh I love it!

Luke got a new drum toy from his Uncle Chad for his first birthday we celebrated this past weekend and Carson has been enjoying it a lot. It plays different tunes and one in particular is a John Phillip Sousa song - kinda of like one you would hear in a 4th of July parade. Well, Carson was so quick to make this observation. He brought the drum to me and said, "Hey this song is in Back to the Future. Save the clock tower!" I had to think about it for a moment, but then I got it. The scene where Marty and his girlfriend are sitting on the park bench and the lady come up to them and yells, "Save the clock tower!" And then a van goes by playing this "marching" music that's promoting Goldie Wilson for mayor. Carson is so observant - he shocks me!

The ABC Song

I haven't had a lot to post lately, but last night Carson was cracking us up. We recently had to "un-bunk" Taylor and Carson's beds. Carson has not been sleeping well at night and has been fighting us when we want to tuck him in at night. He also would end up waking up numerous times throughout the night and come into our room. He would use various excuses such as he had to go potty, or he needed a drink, etc. So we decided to put the boys beds where they could see each other. This has helped tremendously. He doesn't fight us to go to sleep and only wakes up once to go potty and then he will walk back to his bed and go right back to sleep. Last night as we were going through the bed time routine we were singing songs. Carson asked to sing the ABC song. He was belting it out and as we got the the "L-M-N-O-P" part Carson came up with his own version. He sang, "Elmo's gotta pee." We were all laughing so hard, which made Carson get even more silly and he came up with another version of the ending of the song. The actual song as we sing it goes, "Now I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me." Well Carson was singing the bathroom version and sang, "Now I know my ABC's next time Elmo won't you go poop." I tried not to laugh so that I wouldn't encourage that type of talk/song, but I couldn't help it. After all the silliness we did end up finishing the song night with some serious songs such as Jesus Loves Me and the B-I-B-L-E song.

Brutally honest

Has your child ever made you feel self conscious about yourself? Well today I experienced that with Carson. Today we went to the gym and I had a killer cardio interval training class. I don't think I've ever been so sweaty and have been pushed so hard before. It really was intense. So I bring the kids home and get Luke laid down for a nap. I get both Carson and I's lunch made and sit down at the table next to Carson. He starts eating and is looking at me with a strange face. He sets his food down and sternly says, "Mom you need to go poop - you stink!" I about fell of my chair in shock at the comment and from laughing. I told him that I am a little stinky from working out at the gym and getting sweaty. He replied, "Then go take a shower. You stink and I can't eat." I must have really grossed him out to make his appetite disappear. Poor kid! But kids can be so brutally honest!

Spirit Week

This week is Spirit Week at Taylor's school. During Spirit Week the kids have special events each day that they may participate in. Monday was wear your pajamas to school day. Today was crazy hair day. Taylor was very much interested in participating so we came up with a crazy hair style that is sure to win a crazy hair award if there ever was such an award. Tomorrow is wacky Wednesday where you dress to clash or wear your clothes backwards and inside out. Pretty much anything goes - as long as it's in decent taste. I remember back when I was in high school we had crazy hair and clash day combined for Spirit Week. My friends and I came up with some pretty insane outfits and were brave enough to actually wear them to school. Here is the picture from my high school days and along side me are my friends Amanda and Jennifer. We had a blast! What a bunch of hotties we were!!! LOL!!! You'll have to excuse the poor photo quality. I had to scan in an actual photograph - you know back in the old days of 35mm film and flash bulbs! HA! No digital cameras to spoil you.

Is it Easter yet?

That is what I keep hearing - "Mom- is it Easter time yet?" I don't think Carson quite grasps the concept. Yesterday we went to visit the Easter bunny who was at K-Mart. The boys all liked him and were happy to see him. The bunny gave Carson a high five and acted like he fell backward which made Carson gut giggle. He couldn't stop. It was so cute. I've attached a picture for your viewing pleasure. On our way home Carson kept talking about Easter time. He would say, "When Easter comes over I am going to give him an egg." He thought that the Easter bunny's first name was 'Easter' and the last name was 'Bunny.' That one made me smile.

Family Update

I decided to take a little break from blogging, but I am back.

Carson update:

We have been struggling with sleep for Carson during the last week - ever since the time change. It all started with him waking up in the middle of the night screaming and running into my room saying that there were mannequins in his bed. Earlier that day we had gone shopping at Kohl's and while I was looking in the shoe department my mom and the boys were in another part of the store when Carson noticed the mannequins. He just stared at them. No fear at the moment, just curiosity. Well, whatever it was about the mannequins, it freaked him out that night and that's when it all began. Every night since then he will not go to bed. He throws a fit, screams and cries. This has also affected his naps. It's the same situation. So I believe nap time is now over for Carson - which I am very sad about. In order to get Carson to bed at night we end up having to sit with him in the recliner until he falls asleep which doesn't take long because he is pretty much exhausted from not having a nap during the day. I hope this doesn't last much longer. I am getting very frustrated! Just the other day during a nap time struggle regarding mannequins in his bed I said, "Carson, get it out of your head." He replied, "No they're not in my head, they're at Kohl's!"

Luke Update

I am happy to report that Luke seems to have conquered being able to sleep through the night. He still occasionally wakes up, but he now is able to put himself back to sleep. I decided to not use the baby monitor at night so I am less likely to hear him if he is up and crying. I am enjoying longer stretches of sleep at night. It's been a long time coming. Also, Luke is now enjoying a broader variety of food. I have been hesitant to give him "solid" food as opposed to jars of baby food due to one episode of minor choking he had a month or two ago. But, I have overcome my fear and Luke is now a happier and fuller boy. He enjoys cheerios, toast, crackers, spaghetti/noodles and more. We are finally getting there. I always feel like I am behind the times, but what am I in a hurry for? Luke is getting closer and closer to walking. He has excellent balance and will stand by himself, but has yet to take steps outside of his playpen. He will walk from one end of his playpen to the other, but outside of that safety zone it's not happening. Soon enough I am sure. He is babbling a lot more too and his favorite words are Bob and Momma. Not sure who Bob is, but I think it's probably just a fun word to say.

Taylor update:

Taylor brought home his report card just the other day and is excelling at 2nd grade. He is such a bright student and we are so proud of him. He received all E's (which stands for Excellent Progress) and one M in handwriting (M stands for Meets requirements). His teacher left him a very nice comment, "Taylor continues to be a very responsible and cooperative student. He is progressing beautifully and is such a pleasure to have in class!" Way to go Taylor-bug! He also entered the schools Discovery Fair and made a project about the metamorphosis of a frog. He really did a good job.

Lynette and Jason Update:

Jason and I just celebrated our 8 year anniversary. We are planning a night out to have dinner and go see a movie, just haven't had the opportunity to do so yet. Jason and I have decided to join a local gym that is right around the corner from our house - quite convenient! The two younger boys really enjoy going and playing with the other kids while I take my classes. So far I think my favorite is the kickboxing. It's a great stress reliever - punching and kicking and sweating your butt off! Since I have started working out again I have this renewed sense of energy and I am not living off or craving as much coffee as I usually do. I am sleeping more sound and just feel healthier. Plus I am eating healthier foods the majority of the time. Last night I just couldn't resist a small bowl of M&M's while we had family movie night! Overall I just feel so much better.

A windy day

Just a short entry for the day:

Today Carson and I were playing outside. Carson wanted to ride his bike, but it was very windy out. A huge gust of wind came and Carson started screaming and crying, "Mommy, Mommy I am blowing away." He was really panicked so I picked him up and held him so we wouldn't get blown away. Mom to the rescue!

Coffee trouble

We took our entire family of 5 out on Sunday to do a little shopping. On our way home we stopped at the Starbucks in town and I got a grande caramel latte and Jason got a grande house blend black coffee. I was driving the van and Jason was sitting in the back seat with Carson to help keep him occupied. It was past nap time and Carson did not want to sit still and behave himself. He kept wanting to grab Jason's coffee to have a drink which obviously was irritating Jason. So my husband goes to take a sip of his very hot and completely full cup of coffee and gets a drip on his hand. He goes to lick it up and at the same time Carson kicks his foot and knocks the very hot and completely full cup of coffee out of Jason's hand, into his lap in which the lid pops off and spills all over Jason's lap. He stood the rest of the ride home with a look of anger and pain in his face. I was afraid he got burned from the spill. Taylor plugged his ears and said, "If you need to cuss go ahead I have my ears plugged." We got home and Carson immediately went to bed for a nap and Jason went to clean up and survey the damage from the spill. I went out to the van to soak up the remainder of the coffee from the seat cushion, but I think Jason's lap took the brunt of it. Jason ended up being okay besides being very upset at Carson. He had a talk with him about the situation and Carson felt remorseful and told his Daddy he was sorry.

Today Carson was telling my mom what happened yesterday. She asked if daddy was okay or if he had to go to the hospital. Carson replied, "he went to the hospital and had to get new legs."

On another note, today we had new carpet installed in our front room and it looks so awesome! While it was being installed Carson was next door at my parents house. When he came home he saw the carpet and says, "Wow, we got new carpet." He ran around in the room and started rolling around on it. I was going to try and add pictures, but so far it's not letting me. I'll try again later. Wednesday we are having the back room carpeted. Yeah!

Today's observations

Taylor and I were playing a card game of war, but we made it into our own version called physic war. One of us would first lay down our card and say a word then the other person would lay down their card and say the first word that came to mind. There were some that made sense and others that I have no clue where they came from. Taylor made me laugh on one in particular. I laid down my card and said Pina thinking Colada would be the next word to come out. But Taylor's reply was "butter". He thought I said "peanut". I like the word Pina Butter better!

On a different note, today Carson was coloring using Crayola's new Color Wonder markers at the coffee table. Luke was in his baby walker watching and wanting to grab the markers which made Carson mad. These markers are such a great invention because they only work on color wonder paper, nothing else, so there is no mess. Well, apparently there was a non-color wonder marker in with the others that I was not aware of. Guess how I found out? I went over to get Luke out of the way so Carson would stop getting mad and saw a big yellow marker streak from Luke's hairline down his forehead ending above his eye. Carson colored Luke's head!!!! I can't leave him alone for a second! Luckily the marker wasn't black and I was able to wipe it off Luke's head. Ugh!

We went out to dinner tonight at Strongbow's and after dinner we all had dessert. Carson got a scoop of chocolate ice cream. As he took a bite his response was, "this is delicious!" Guess he really enjoyed it. He told me he needed to go potty so we headed to the bathroom. As we entered the stall Carson noticed the seat to the toilet - it was black. His reply was, "I've never seen a black potty before - Wow!" It really impressed him. What a nut!

Our poor dog

We have a very sweet dog whose name is Sasha. She is the most laid back, gentle and lovable dog I've ever known. You wouldn't think so being that she's a mix breed of pit bull and boxer. We've had her since Taylor was a baby and she is excellent with kids especially around Carson. Sasha has put up with a lot from Carson and has never bit or nipped him. Sasha has her own chair in our house in which she spends 75% of her day sleeping in. Carson likes to sit with her or I should say ON her when she is in her chair. The dog doesn't seem to mind even when he stands up on her. Luke has a fascination with the dog too. He likes to pull himself up to a stand when she's in her chair and play with the dog's toenails. I have even seen Luke taste test the dog's tail and she just lays there puts up with it. Just this morning Sasha walked past me and had a chip clip clipped on her fur. Once again - she didn't seem to mind. We're very fortunate to have such a great dog!

We've got a smart one tonight!

Carson is so much smarter than I give him credit for. He proved that point last night. We've been practicing numbers, names, letters, etc lately. When I asked him his name of course he said "Carson". When I asked him his middle name he said, "papa." I was a little confused at first, but then I figured it out. Carson's name for my dad is "Papa" and my dad's first name is Lee. Carson's middle name is Lee so that makes sense now. Carson Papa (Lee). Next I wanted to practice our phone number which I have never practiced with Carson before. I said to Carson, "Let's learn our phone number. Repeat after me Carson, say 5 4 8." And do you know the next thing Carson said? Without saying the 5 4 8 he instantly finished our phone number saying the last four numbers. Jason and I just looked at each other in amazement and shock! How in the world did he know his phone number when I've never worked on it before with him? It was crazy. We've got a smart one tonight!

Occupation questions and answers

Today Carson wanted to eat a piece of bread. I know - really exciting, but that's what he was hungry for - a plain piece of bread! So he starts to climb the counter to get himself some bread and grabs an old loaf that I am sure had some mold growing on it. I took it from him and said, "You don't want to eat that bread, it has mold on it." So he asks if he can have a different piece of bread. I get out a piece of white bread and hand it to him. He looks at it and says, "This one doesn't have any moles on it." What a nut!

Yesterday I was having a conversation with Carson about different occupations and what people do. I was curious to see what he thought so here are a few of his replies.

• What does the president do?

Carson's answer: "He opens up a present."

• What does a fireman do?

Carson's answer: "He works really hard."

• What does a veterinarian do?

Carson's answer: "He pets stuff."

• What does Daddy do at work?

Carson's answer: "He writes stuff down."

• What do you want to be when you grow up?

Carson's answer: "A paint man."

• What does a nurse do?

Carson's answer: "They pick our noses." (I think he was getting silly at this point and possibly sick of me asking him too many questions!)

More Carson comments

I get such a kick out of Carson's comments at times. He can really crack me up. Today we were playing in the back room and had Carson's scooter out. I was being goofy and acting like I was sitting on it to ride it. Carson stopped me and said, "No Mom. When you grow up like a big boy, then you can play with it." He assumed the role of a parent and was talking to me like I was his child. Too funny!

Later that afternoon we had to leave to pick up our van that had some brake work done. When we walked in the door I looked over to the couch and saw our dog, Sasha, laying there looking at me with an extremely guilty face. I replied, "Shame on you Sasha - get off the couch! Bad dog!" Carson walked inside the house and asked what Sasha did so I told him that she was on the couch. He then asked in a concerned voice, "Is there poop on the couch now?" I sure hope not!

Are the ears turned on?

I had made chocolate chip cookies per Taylor's request and they were sitting on the counter cooling. I head to the laundry room to fold some clothes and Carson comes in a few minutes later with a huge chocolate smudge around his mouth. He asks, "Are the cookies ready yet Mom?" I reply, "Well from the looks of it Carson they seem to be!" So I head out to the kitchen to assess the damage and see his half eaten cookie on the table. I told him next time to ask me first if he can have a cookie before he takes one. Well sure enough his ears must have been turned off because a few minutes later I see him reaching for yet another cookie that he did not ask for. I run after him and take it from his hands and take a wet paper towel to begin clean up of the chocolate mess that was all over his face and hands. As I am cleaning him up I say, "Carson, you need to turn your ears on and listen to me." He looks down at his hands and responds, "I can't my hands are wet." So, after I dry his hands he looks at me with a sarcastic grin and those darn cute dimples then reaches up to his ear and twists it. They must be on now.

A day out with Carson

So yesterday I decided to take Carson and Luke with me to Merrillville to do a little shopping. Our first stop was Westfield shopping mall. The nice part about going to the mall on a weekday is that there are a lot of good parking spots and it is not crowded at all. We just about got blown away walking from the van to the mall entrance. The wind was so intense and SO cold! That pretty much determined the rest of our shopping day. I wasn't about to go from store to store taking the boys in and out of the van and trying to avoid being blown off our feet! On a regular day it's hard enough, but the wind really added the extra punch. So I went and had my ring cleaned and inspected like I am supposed to do every 6 months and that's when Carson decided he wanted to have his freedom and go where he was not supposed to. There is a reason they have doors between the jewelry cases and where customers are not supposed to go. Well, needless to say Carson decided to go into the employee only section and of course I had to run in after him. I wasn't about to deal with this type of behavior so I had to nip it in the bud immediately! I grabbed his arm and gave him a good swift swat on the butt and sternly told him he will not leave my side. Well, that was something he didn't want to hear because he instantly head butted me in the chest. I said to him, "Do not head-butt me!" I guess I should have called it something else because his response to that was, "No - you're a butt head!" Such a nice way to talk to his Mom! One of my favorite movies is Back to the Future and in that movie (which Carson has watched with me a few times) Biff says, "What are you lookin' at Butt Head?" Carson thought that was so funny and likes to occasionally use that phrase with his brother and me at times. Boys will be boys I suppose!

So after the mall episode I was feeling yucky and needed to eat. I decided to take the kids to Bakers Square for lunch - one of my favorite restaurants (and a place I used to work). Normally I don't attempt to do this type of thing by myself, but I decided to give it a try. It was 11:30 and the main lunch rush wouldn't arrive until we were about done. It really went quite well. Carson ate like he was starving and had never seen food before. I swear I feed my child! I told him since he ate all his lunch he could pick out a dessert. As he was looking through the different pictures of pie he came across one and asked, "Do they have cookies cake?" I looked at which pie he was referring to and it was the Oreo cookie pie. I like the name he gave it. So we had our dessert and I went to take a drink out of my very full glass of ice water and Carson replies, "Mom - don't get your nose wet!" That was too funny.

So all in all the day was pretty nice for a change. Not a whole lot of power struggles. Before it was time for his nap I was trying to get a program to play for Carson using our new TiVo. I pushed something wrong and ended up at some strange menu and Carson replied, "Uh-Oh! Now you did it. Now you're fired!" He must be the next Donald!

Mr. Independent a.k.a. Carson

Aren't kids supposed to slow down when they turn 3? I was so much looking forward to Carson getting out of the 2 year old stage, but so far the 3 year old stage is still at the same tiring pace. For instance, Carson has a fascination with climbing up on the counter to get whatever it is up there that I don't want him to have. Forget ever leaving a plate of cookies or anything tempting within Carson's reach because he will notice it in a second and be scaling the cabinets to get what he wants. Just the other day I was in the laundry room folding clothes and I left Carson while he was intently watching a TV show. I thought it was a safe time to leave him alone. Nope. A few minutes later I hear the sound of a pill bottle being rattled. I run out to the kitchen and there is Carson standing on the counter top in the cabinet where we keep our medicine. I need to have a lock and key for that cabinet I guess. He had the Tums container out and said he was going to eat his vitamins. Thankfully I got there in time before he actually ate any. Most of the other pills are all in child proof containers which he has not figured out how to open yet, but I know it won't be too long before he figures it out. A week or so before this episode I came into the kitchen to see Carson chugging my bottle of flavored coffee creamer and scooping spoonful loads of sugar into my half full mug of coffee. I really wonder what goes through his head at times.

The past few days the weather has been really nice so Carson has been able to play outside, but the problem is that he throws a complete fit when it's time to come inside. So the other day I told him that after his nap he could go back outside and play. So nap time is great - I get my hour to an hour and a half of sanity and peace (for the most part). Next thing I know the back door is wide open and Carson is not in his bed. I look outside and see a barefoot Carson running around the backyard kicking a ball. He took it upon himself to go outside when he was done napping. I guess I forgot to give him the specific details that he had to wait for mom or dad to go out with him. He is the most independent 3 year old I've ever met.

American Idol Comment

We watched Tuesday night's American Idol where the 8 girls sang. The first to perform was Paris Bennett. Carson sat and watched - which surprised me because he hasn't really been into the show too much lately. When Paris was finished Carson remarked, "Now she's a winner!" I like Paris, but she's not my favorite - apparently it's Carson's favorite. My pick is Katharine McPhee. She is darling and has got the best blues-jazz voice out of all the girls. For the guys I have to choose Taylor Hicks. He's got a great first name!!! Elliott is a very close 2nd though!

The Easter Talk

There are times when I really love having conversations with Carson. It's the times when he really gets thinking, asks questions and is very interested in what were talking about. This morning we were putting a puzzle together and I mentioned how it reminded me of Easter. It had spring time colors and flowers (even though it was the three little pigs). So that started a conversation about Easter. I asked him what he thought Easter was about. His response was, "the eggs." I continued to tell him that eggs are just one part of it, but the real reason is celebrating Jesus. That's why we dress up special that day and go to church. Then he asked, "Can I dress up?" I said, "Of course." He then asked, "Can I dress up as a pumpkin or a ghost?" His concept of dressing up is in costume! Not sure how well that would go over at church.

A shopping day to remember

I normally do not like to take Carson with me when I go shopping (hhhmmm - wonder why?!?!), but sometimes I have no other choice. In the past, I could get away with using my double stroller and force Carson to be restrained, but now that I have given him some freedom, the double stroller is a thing of the past. He wants to walk and refuses to be restrained whether it be in a stroller or a shopping cart. This has started to become a problem.

So I had some shopping to do yesterday and we started off late in the day - there's the first mistake. Carson feel asleep in the van on the way to the store. At that point I really should have turned around and gone home, but I really wanted and needed to get a few things. So I pull into Menards and get Luke strapped into the shopping cart and pick up a completely sound asleep (snoring and drooling!!) 35 pound boy. Once we get into the store Carson wakes up and instantly says, "Can we go play with the toys?" Luckily we did not see any toys, but while I was looking in another section Carson would not stop playing in the display of doors. He continued to open and try and close himself in them. I told him to stop or he was going to get his fingers chopped off. So, after numerous times of telling him to stop playing in the doors I finally had to physically go over to him, pick him up, and place him in the cart. All the while he is yelling and kicking and screaming, "Shut up Mom! You shut up!" I am sure I was getting all kinds of looks from other shoppers, but hey what are you going to do? My child was crabby and couldn't control himself and it really was probably my fault for expecting him to be good. So I find what I need very quickly after that and proceed to the check out while Carson is still yelling and crying about who knows what. The nice clerk at the check out line was playing on Carson's sadness and asked him what was the matter. Carson replied, "I chopped my fingers off in the doors." The look that lady gave me was priceless! I had to clarify for her and explain what I told Carson would happen if he hadn't stopped playing in the doors. I was so happy to get out of that store.

Later that night I took both Luke and Carson to Kohl's to find some new pictures to hang in our home. I found 4 of them and had to awkwardly carry the pictures while pushing Luke in the stroller and trying to keep Carson by me. Carson announces he has to go potty. Great timing! So we manage to get to the customer service area where the bathrooms are. I ask the lady if I can leave the pictures with her while we use the bathroom. No sooner do I start to set the pictures down, Carson runs off and enters the Men's bathroom! Oh my gosh - what in the world was I going to do? Luckily, a man and his son were heading into the bathroom so I asked him if he could get my son for me. He peeks in and says no one is in there so what do I do? I go and retrieve my son from the men's bathroom. I was more than embarrassed! Thankfully no one was in there! It could have been a lot worse. So after the potty experience we finish up in the store and we're heading out to the van. Carson is refusing to hold my hand so I pick him up by the waist and proceed to the van. This must have really ticked him off because he started up again yelling, "Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!!!" I swear he must have said it 10 - 20 times. I could not get him to stop! I was completely mortified. I have never heard him say that word before in my life! There was an elderly couple walking past us as this was happening and I can just imagine what a great parent they thought I was.

So that was our shopping day to remember. Hopefully our future outings will be more pleasant for all of us! Or I'll get smart and find a sitter!

Thanks for noticing

I love to see Carson get wrapped up with things that he is doing because he becomes very observant. Yesterday we were taking a trip to Michigan City and I was sitting in the back seat with Carson keeping him company. We decided to play the counting game. We counted the tires on his matchbox car, the dots on a toy lady bug, our ears, eyes, fingers, etc. Then Carson stopped and looked at my face very closely. He said, "and you have one, two moles Mom." Thanks Carson for pointing that out sweetheart!

Last week Carson and I were sitting at the table having our breakfast and Jason comes out from just getting cleaned up for the day. Carson looks at his dad and says, "You're hair looks nice today Daddy." That was something we didn't expect to hear, but how nice!

Back on September 8, 2005 Taylor and I were searching around the house for a particular toy that was lost. Carson actually found it and came up to me and says, "Give me a high five!"

On February 3, 2006 I was in the kitchen making lunch and Carson was in the front room watching TV. He comes into the kitchen and says, "there's something wrong with the TV Mom." So I go out to see what the problem is. He had turned it on the Spanish speaking channel. No wonder!

Something about coffee

I am a coffee lover. I think I am turning Carson into one too. Just the other day I accidentally left the refrigerator open and I turn around to see Carson getting into something. I went over to see what he was doing and he turns around to look at me with a mouth full of Folgers coffee grounds coming out of his mouth. He says, "Mmmm coffee." So gross! Yesterday I asked what he would like to drink and his reply was coffee. So I played along with it and asked what he would like in his coffee. He said, "candy." I think he is turning into a caffeine and sugaraholic!

I leave you with a few pictures I took of the boys this afternoon.

Mr. Luke

Mr. Carson - the coffee man!

Mr. Taylor-bug!

Wrong word

Yeah - so I've been slacking! There's just been more to do around here and not enough drive to do it all. So I thought I'd share with you all today some cute and funny "wrong word" stories from the last 5 years of Taylor's life and the start of Carson's. I have been keeping a "journal" which started off being milestones of Taylor as a baby, and has now turned into funny things my kids have done or said. I highly recommend doing this if you have small kids at home. You think you'll remember what they said, but unless you write it down chances are you'll forget. It makes for a good read and a good laugh later on in life. So here are some cute entry's from when Taylor (who is my oldest son) was between the ages of 3 and 8. Enjoy.

Taylor - age 3
May 4, 2001
I asked Taylor if he was hungry and his reply was, “Yeah – I’m roasting like a chicken!”

Taylor - age 4
July 27, 2001
We were at a restaurant in Bloomington and the waiter asked Taylor what he would like. He replied, “Popcorn chicken seafood.” translation = popcorn shrimp

August 20, 2001
Taylor was helping me with the 5/3 Bank float that we constructed for the Popcorn Festival. He stood with his back against the concrete pillar and said, “Look how much I weigh.” (Slight confusion with weight and height.)

September 1, 2001
Taylor saw a daddy long leg spider and called it a gran-daddy spider.

September 4, 2001
Taylor and I were in the car and he asked why our dog Sasha killed a rabbit. I told him that dogs like to hunt smaller animals that it’s just their instinct. Taylor responds, “Yeah, they stink.”

September 21, 2001
There is a bakery in town called Chuck’s Bakery, but Taylor thinks it’s called Charlie Brown Bakery.

September 21, 2001
We went hiking at Deep River and were talking about going to Turkey Run state park. A little while later Taylor mentioned the park again, but instead of referring to it as Turkey Run Park he called it Chicken Hike Park.

June 2002
Taylor’s word interpretations:
raccoons = ratcoons
gazebo = koziko
copy cat = coffee cat
dachshund dog a.k.a. “wiener dog” = banana dog

June 17, 2002
Taylor and I were sitting outside and I got the chills. Taylor asked, “Do you have the chicken pops?” I think he meant to ask if I had goose bumps.

Taylor - age 5
November 20, 2002
Taylor was at his grandparent’s house and wanted to play the hopscotch game, but he referred to it as hotchscŏp.

April 1, 2003
Taylor was out in the back yard and spotted a sticker bush and yelled, “Mom! Watch out for that splinter bush!”

May 15, 2003
I asked Taylor if he wanted a fried egg sandwich for lunch. He replied, “Yeah, OK. But, it’s not Friday.” He must have thought I said a Friday sandwich.

Taylor - age 6
November 9, 2003
Taylor and I were playing brain quest and one question asked the name of the animal that lives in the desert. Taylor’s answer, “Canimal.” (I think he meant camel!)

January 15, 2004
I was pumping gas in the van and Taylor asked, “How many meters of gas are you getting?”

Taylor - age 7
August 24, 2004
Carson had a diaper rash so I told Jason that when he changes his diaper he would need to put some A&W ointment on. I really meant to say A&D ointment. (A&W is a brand of root beer!)

November 25, 2004
I asked Taylor who Mark Twain was and he replied, “He’s an arthur.”

January 13, 2005
Taylor wanted me to guess which pair of socks he put on without looking so I said, “a white pair.” He asked what kind and I said I didn’t know. He showed me them and said (using a two-syllable pronunciation) “Hān-es.” I think he meant Hănes.

April 1, 2005
I was pregnant at the time with Luke and I mentioned to Taylor how my belly looks like I have a basketball in it. Taylor replies, “It sure Luke’s like it.”

June 19, 2005
Jason and I were talking about an upcoming wedding we are going to and Taylor asks, “Am I going to be the ring barrier?”

Taylor – age 8
December 5, 2005
Our city has a Live Nativity scene each year and other activities downtown during the Christmas season. Taylor asks, “Are we going downtown to see the Native Activity?”

Carson - age 3
January 25, 2006

Carson was eating graham crackers and he asked, “Can I have another graham crapper?”

Sick kid

Literally, I have a sick kid. Poor Carson is battling a cold and has been on and off for a few weeks now. His symptoms don't seem to interrupt his usual behavior or slow him down any (darn it!) But he does seem extra crabby which is SO much fun to deal with. NOT! We took him in last Wednesday for his 3 year physical (almost a month past his actual birthday). Everything seemed to check out okay until the doctor looked in his ears. Up to this point Carson has never had an ear infection, but this day was different. The doctor asked if Carson had been complaining about his ear at all and I said no. Well, he has an ear infection so we have him on antibiotics. Baby Luke has a double ear infection at the same time so he's on antibiotic. And myself, well I am also on antibiotics for what my doctor believes to be extra fluid in my ears. So needless to say we've got some health issues going on right now. But back to Carson's symptoms. This is his first time on antibiotics and I wasn't too sure how he'd act having to drink this pink looking medicine. He took the cup and sipped it down and said, "This is delicious!" I wasn't expecting that good of a reaction, but heck I'll take it! Carson has had a runny nose for awhile too and it seems I am always chasing after him to blow his nose. Well, just the other day he comes running into my room with a kleenax and says in a very excited voice, "Mom I wiped my nose off!" Well, the wording got a little backwards, but it was cute to see how excited he was to be able to wipe his own nose for a change without having to be chased around or told to go do it.

Observant little guy

I have discovered that kids, whether or not you think they are paying attention, absorb everything around them and can retain that information better than most adults. Carson is no exception to this discovery. He is a sponge. And he also has selective hearing. I had to test him the other day to see if he really was having hearing issues or not. It seemed as if all day (and most every day) I have to constantly repeat myself and the things I want Carson to do or not do. He is testing his limits and my patience and I am not sure at this point who is winning. Some days I feel defeated. So I figured I would see if he really could hear me. After telling him repeatedly to come into the kitchen and find his shoes (probably 5 times) he would just stare at me and not move. Then he'd go back to whatever it was that he was doing. So I barely whispered, "do you want a cookie?" Guess what? He comes running down the hallway yelling, "Yeah, I want a cookie mommy." What a stinker! So I now know that his hearing is perfectly normal if not better than normal.

Carson is a fan of many kid shows, but one in particular is Blue's Clues. He enjoys finding clues that are marked with a paw print. Well, back in July 2005 I had dressed Luke for the day with a cute Carter's outfit that had a dog and paw print on it. Carson points to Luke's outfit and remarks, "Luke's got a clue!" Sure enough, there was a paw print on the shirt even though it was not a Blue's Clues shirt. Another show that Carson has enjoyed is the movie E.T. I thought it might be scary for him at first, but he really liked it. I was on the phone back in August 2005 and I had to give the spelling of my first name. So I said, "L-Y-N-E-T-T-E." Carson, who was in the kitchen with me remarked, "E-T! I want to watch ET."

This past month we had our kitchen floor, hallway and laundry room floors redone. During the process Carson was watching the men put the pieces of the floor together. I could see the observant wheels turning in his head. He asked me, "Are they doing a puzzle and can I help?" I told him it kinda was like a puzzle that they had to fit all of the pieces of the floor together, but I also told him that only older people can put these types of puzzles together. Well, his reply was, "When I get bigger I'm gonna do those puzzles too!" Future career? Maybe.

Our church experiences

Practically ever since Carson was born we have been going to church and he has enjoyed his time in the nursery. For the last two years I have attended a Tuesday morning bible study for women and Carson will go to his version of church pre-school. It's been a good experience for him the majority of the time and some cute observations on his part have come about. For instance, on our way home from bible study one Tuesday Carson and I were talking and I asked him what his favorite part of church was. His reply with a big smile on his face was, "the girls." Uh-oh - watch out! My dad calls him Carsonova! I think that's a fitting nick name. Today we were looking out the window while his big brother Taylor was at the bus stop. Also at the bus stop was Zoe, a girl neighbor who Taylor plays with. Carson watched and looked at me with another big smile and asked, "Is Zoe a sweetheart?" Too funny! But back to the church experience, another cute episode was back on November 20, 2005. I was tucking Carson into bed and asked him to say his prayers as we do every night. Normally he quietly mumbles, so I end up helping say his prayers for him, but tonight was different. His prayer was as follows, "Dear God. Thank you for this day. Thank you for sticks, blocks, dominos and wagons. Amen." He was so sweet and sincere. I love it!

Blue

A little background information to start:
On January 25, 2006 Carson turned 3 and we had a family birthday party to celebrate. Carson wanted to have cars and trucks on his birthday cake and there was also a lot of blue butter cream frosting. Yummy! After everyone ate the cake we all had blue lips, mouths and teeth.

Now the rest of the story...............
Currently we are "fish-sitting" 5 fish for my parents while they are on vacation. Four of them are blue dempsey cichlids and one is a plecostomus. My dad brought them over to our house and Carson was checking them out. He then asked why they were the color blue? He answered his question with his rational thinking saying, "from frosting?" That blue frosting from his birthday party must have really had an impact on him.

What are you afraid of?

Kids can be so funny when it comes to their fears. Carson is a pretty laid back kid and not too many things get to him. But, there are a few things that he just doesn't like. Here are a few instances:

June 18, 2005
I was giving Carson a bath and he kept looking up at the shower head with a frightened look in his eyes. I asked him what was the matter and he replied, "I don't like that guy." He must have thought it resembled a face of some sort is all I can figure out.

July 5, 2005
We frequent our local Wal-Mart at least once a week and lately Carson gets panicked when we get up to the check out lines. At first, I could not understand it, but then it became quite clear. We were in the line that was closest to the nail salon, and in the salon they have a very large black sculpture of a hand with very long nails on it. So after I finished at the check out I thought we'd stroll over to the nail salon and see if he really was afraid of this hand. I thought Carson was going to jump out of his seat belt in the cart. He was very panicked and was squeezing my arm saying, "No, no, no, no - I don't like that creepy hand." So I have found I can somewhat use this fear to my advantage. If Carson is acting up in Wal-Mart I can just ask him if he wants to go see "the hand" and that will usually do the trick. Am I mean or what?!?!? But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

September 24, 2005
We were at a Subway sandwich shop in Illinois and Carson was watching the man make our sandwiches. The man was wearing plastic gloves on his hands and Carson remarked, "That guy has creepy hands."

January 2006
Carson and I went to the Goodwill store and I let him look in the toy section while I was looking at kids clothes nearby. He was playing quite contently for awhile then he came over to me and said, "Mom there's a hand over there." I went over with him and asked him to show me what he was talking about, but he was very reluctant. He points from a distance and says, "Under there." I look on the bottom shelf and stuck behind the shelf there was a furry brown glove that looked like it was from a gorilla costume of some sort.

February 9, 2006
Carson and I were playing a game called What's That Sound by Discovery Toys where you listen to a CD that contains different sounds and you match the sounds to pictures on a bingo-like card. All was well until he hears the thunderstorm. Boy did he jump in my arms fast. Then a noise came on that was supposed to be an old man snoring. Carson couldn't quite figure out what it was supposed to be so I asked him what it sounded like. He replied, "A monster."

Things you shouldn't do

Carson could be the poster child for things you shouldn't do. Here are a few instances:

June 2005
Carson was playing in the front room with his play kitchen set and seemed to be very content. I came to check on him a few minutes later and noticed all the plastic play food and plates were not in the container or in the kitchen set. Then I hear Carson behing the rocking chair. I look behind the chair and find that he had taken off the vent cover and threw all of the plastic food and plates down the vent opening. I managed to get most of them out luckily.

August 1, 2005
Today Carson had an unusually ornry day. Here are a few of the things he's done to drive me crazy.

• ate Dawn dish soap
• pulled trim off his dresser
• stuck his foot in the toilet
• put food up his nose
• wiped poop on the computer monitor

August 31, 2005
This morning Carson decided to take a 4 oz. container of bubbles (the kind you blow) and drink some and then dumped the rest on Taylor's bed. Not sure if this would pose a health risk to him or not, I called poison control and they said he should be fine other than an upset stomach.

Potty Time Adventures

For the past year ever since Carson turned 2 I have introduced the potty chair and have made many attempts to get Carson out of diapers. It was a long process, but I am happy to say that we've finally made it. Along the journey there have been some funny moments that I have taken note of and would love to share with everyone.

8-30-05
I was getting Carson dressed for the day and was hoping to put underwear on him instead of a pull-up. But I figured I'd give him a choice and asked him, "Carson, would you like to wear underwear or a pull-up today?" His reply was, "No - I wanna be naked."

January 2005
Carson was playing with our dog Sasha and lifted up her tail. He took a look and replied, "Poop!"

10-3-05 Toilet fascination
Being that we've introduced the toilet concept to Carson he has been very interested, but in the wrong way. Today he was playing with my toe separators that I use when I paint my toenails. They have ducks printed on them. He comes up to me after playing in Luke's room or at least where I thought he was playing and said, "the ducks are taking a bath." "Oh, really!" I said. And I asked him to show me. He leads me to the bathroom and points to the toilet. Sure enough, there were the ducks taking a bath in the toilet. YUCK!

10-4-05
The next day after the duck episode we were both in the bathroom as I was putting my make up on and Carson was sitting on his potty chair. He was playing with a bouncy ball and decided to throw it into the big toilet. These balls don't float and I wasn't about to stick my hand down the toilet to find it. So we said our goodbye's to the ball and called Papa over to see if he could rescue it. No luck, it was long gone.

10-7-05
Carson is now successfully pooping on his Elmo potty. He has a very good imagination because he will now observe his excrement and tell me what it looks like. So far he's seen a snake, a seahorse, a big bear, and a spaceship.

Computer savvy

Carson's older brother Taylor likes to play games on the computer and online. Of course Carson wants to be part of the action so I have Taylor help him play games. One of Carson's favorites is the Thomas the Tank Engine site. So the other day Carson comes up to me and asks if we could play Thomas on the computer. And then he also asks, "Is it w w w . com?" I thought that was pretty clever of him to know that much!

Back on August 25, 2005 there was mail sitting on the table. Carson picked up an envelope and replied, "Hey look mom - we got email!" Too cute!

Hungry?

This past summer on July 26th, 2005 I was still in bed, but I heard a noise out in the kitchen. I figured it was Taylor, but thought I'd better go out to make sure. On the way to the kitchen I peeked in the boys room and noticed that Taylor was still asleep in his bed and Carson's bed was empty. Uh-Oh. I could only imagine what Carson was up to now by himself. So I walk into the kitchen and there sits Carson on the kitchen counter. He had the bread bag open and was stuffing 2 slices of bread in his mouth. "Carson!" I shouted. "What are you doing?" He replied in a muffled voice, "I eating toast." I guess he was so hungry he couldn't wait for Mom to get him breakfast. He's quite the independent spirit.

Just the other day he wanted a snack in the pantry and apparently didn't want to ask for help but it was just out of his reach. He knows he's not supposed to pull the chairs away from the table, so he goes to the kitchen-all-purpose-junk-drawer and takes out a wooden spoon. All this time I am watching from the other room where he doesn't notice me. He walks over to the pantry and reaches up with the spoon and sure enough, he knocks down the box of fruit snacks.

His obsession with food continues. Back in October 2005 he received $5 from his "maga" Becky and Ed. I asked him what he was going to buy with his money and he replied, "Maybe grapes or bananas."

My Little Idol Fan

As a lot of you know I enjoy watching the show American Idol and my kids usually watch it with me. This season has kicked up once again and they have started with the auditions - good and bad. I was sitting on the floor with Carson during last weeks Tuesday night episode and Carson was quietly sitting on my lap intently watching the show. When the contestants came out and did not make the cut some got really mad and had to be censored. I was thankful for that. Next up to try out was a girl with absolutely no talent. She got reamed by the judges and wasn't taking it well. She comes out the door and Ryan Seacrest asked what she felt about the judges and their decision. Her reply was, "they can kiss my butt!" Well, the censoring could have gone a little farther. Carson absorbed that comment like a sponge and was off and running, yelling and giggling, "Kiss My Butt Mom!" Thanks a lot American Idol!

On another Idol moment, back last year on April 4, 2005 I was having a conversation with Carson and asked him what he liked to watch on TV. He said replied, "Thomas the train." I asked what else he liked to watch. Then with a big grin he replied, "Bo Bice!" Oh yeah! That's my boy. I loved Bo Bice from last year's American Idol run. He's awesome! Carson knows good talent.

Not Claustrophobic

This past May 23, 2005 started off as a normal day - nothing out of the ordinary. I was sitting in the front room drinking my Dunkin Donuts coffee and enjoying our new baby boy who was a little over two weeks old. I hear noises coming from the kitchen and yelled out, "Carson, what are you doing?" I think I say that about 100 + times a day. I hear a muffled response that I couldn't quite make out. After a few more moments of clanking I decided to check out the suspicious activity. Much to my surprise I found Carson half way into the microwave. Yes, I did just say microwave! Why or how, I don't think we'll ever know. But thank goodness I had the camera nearby because I don't believe anyone would have ever believed me unless I had proof. So, needless to say, my son Carson (who was 2 at the time) is not afraid of small enclosed spaces. He sure doesn't take after me. After a few pictures I helped Carson out of the microwave and just had to ask him what he thought he was doing. His reply, "I'm cooking!" What were you trying to cook, YOURSELF?!?!?! He sure is something else. I hope you like the pictures!

The Introduction

Well, here I am. Never thought I'd be trying something like this, but thanks to my good friend Beth I am doing something new. I debated on whether or not to start a blog because to be honest I didn't even know what one was or what the purpose was (not even sure if I still do or not!). So my thought processes were on the move and I came up with the idea to share my daily adventures. Some may be yawing right now, but let me tell you something - I have a 3 year old! He is no ordinary 3 year old, he's completely unique. My primary motive was to dedicate this blog to his crazy and funny outtakes on life. So my prediction is that you will be mostly laughing and sometimes crying at all the unbelievable things I have documented on this fun-loving child. So sit back and enjoy the ride because it has just begun!

A little background:
My husband (Jason) and I will have been married 8 years come April. We have 3 beautiful boys: Taylor (8), Carson (3), and Luke (9 months). I am a busy stay-at-home mom.